Salutations

I figured a quick introduction is appropriate for the beginning of this blog. I am 26 year old guy who works as a materials/optics scientist at an academic research institution in the Midwest. As such, I am in the unusual position to be in the extreme minority as a white male. For my first year here, the only other non-Chinese national in my research group was a Korean fellow. I was the definition of diversity. In this position I have lots of interactions with government, military, industrial partners. In my off time, I am an avid distance runner, a fan of philosophy, and an observer of international politics. I read more than fair amount, but dislike fiction, so I keep up with current events. I have never been a fan of talking about myself, but that ought to give one enough context to understand the perspective from which I write. Hopefully this will end up at least mildly interesting and/or entertaining.